Month: February 2013

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. [16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. [17] For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:15-17)

In the sixth chapter of Revelation, we are introduced to a seven year period of tribulation that will engulf the earth after the rapture of God’s people. Those of us that are believers in Christ are anxiously waiting the appearing of the Saviour because we expect our final salvation which is complete deliverance from the presence of sin. Those that are not believers can expect no such deliverance but instead will be plunged into this terrible time of God’s wrath poured out on the earth. In recent years, we have been astonished and saddened by the numbers of lives that have been lost in natural disasters such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Sometimes these disasters take thousands of lives. In the tribulation, these types of disasters and others will be common and much more intense in their destruction. During this time, not thousands but multiple millions of lives will be lost.

In the seventh chapter, we see there is some hope for people that are left behind at the rapture. There are 144,000 Jews that are sealed by God—12,000 from each of the 12 tribes—that will become God’s witnesses of the gospel. Through their testimony, many people will receive the truth of the gospel and be saved. However, they will be terribly persecuted and many believe every one of them will be killed before the end of the Tribulation. Their lives will be characterized by hunger and thirst as they are not permitted to buy food or participate in the world’s economy. The armies of the Antichrist will relentlessly pursue them into their hiding places and cruelly take their lives (for a frightening perspective on this, read also Matthew 24).

In the end of the seventh chapter, these martyred Tribulation saints are seen in heaven where they gather around the throne of God to worship and continually serve Him. It is notable that all of the heartache and troubles they had on earth will be reversed as they enjoy the company of the Saviour who promised to feed them and lead them to living fountains of waters. W.A. Criswell in commenting on verse 16 explains the multiple use of negatives as God reverses the heartaches they had on earth. He writes: “The next description is: ’They shall hunger no more, they shall thirst no more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.’ These negatives are often used in Revelation. In the twenty-first chapter, where heaven is described, there is an abundance of negatives. The Greeks, as they wrote things, had an emphatic way of putting them down. In English, double negatives mutually eliminate each other. If you say, ‘don’t not,’ then you actually do. That is English. But in Greek, the more negatives are piled up, the more emphatic the meaning. We get the meaning, even in English when we do that. If someone said to you, “I don’t know nothing nohow,” you would get the idea that he did not know anything. If a man comes up to you and asks for a job, saying, ‘You don’t know nobody nowhere what wants nobody to work for him, don’t you?’, you know he is asking for a job. But that is good Greek. It may be bad English, but it is marvelous Greek. That is what God says here. He just piles up negatives, ‘no,’ ‘not,’ ‘neither,’ ‘nor,’ adding one to the other, as He describes God’s separate remembrance and provision for His people.”

I sincerely hope there is no one in our church that will be left behind when Jesus comes. Although millions will be saved during the tribulation, I have serious doubts that anyone who has heard the gospel prior to the coming of Christ will be afterwards convicted by the Holy Spirit to believe. While we say there is hope for some because of the witness of the 144,000, this is not any guarantee that any particular individual will ever come in contact with these witnesses, or if they do they will believe when the gospel is preached. The scripture says today is the day of salvation. There is no guarantee of tomorrow; and if tomorrow does come it may already be too late. Trust Christ today and be sure of your place at the throne of God.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. (Revelation 6:1)

Our congregational reading today is from the sixth chapter of Revelation. I hesitated somewhat before deciding we would continue reading in Revelation because the subject matter of the next chapters seems a little strange to read in the setting of a worship service. We take a literal futuristic view of Revelation so we do not accept the sixth chapter and those following as being largely symbols of events that are in the past and some that still remain to take place in the future. Nearly all commentators agree John wrote about events that were future to him, however they do not agree whether many of these events occurred between the time of John and the present time.

The confusion is due to the different schemes of interpretation relating to the timing of the Second Coming of Christ and of the characteristics of the millennium. Those that do not believe Christ will return to begin a literal, physical kingdom on the earth as the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant tend to interpret these verses as events Christians will live through before Christ returns. We believe Christ will first rapture His people from the earth and then a seven year period of tribulation will begin. The events of chapters 6 through 18 belong to the time of tribulation which is yet future. This tribulation is a terrible time of judgment in which God begins to purge the world of sin in preparation for the coming Kingdom.

Returning to the message of the sixth chapter, the chapter begins with the opening of God’s book. This book is a scroll and each section is marked off with a seal so each section cannot be read until its corresponding seal is broken. This is God’s title deed to the earth and no one is worthy to break the seals and open the book but the Lamb of God that was slain from the foundation of the world. He alone has power and authority to implement the plan for the earth’s reclamation (5:4-5).

The scroll contains God’s plan for the final redemption of the earth. When Adam disobeyed God, the entire creation was cursed. God’s plan is to lift the curse imposed in Genesis chapter 3. Since the fall of Adam in the Garden, Satan has usurped God’s authority upon the earth. As a result of the curse, man lost his dominion over the earth. The story of redemption is how God places all authority into the hands of Jesus Christ to take back our forfeited inheritance and claim it once again for Himself and His children. Redemption began at the cross and will continue until we reach a glorious future where we will rule and reign with Christ (5:9-10).

Each of the seals represents a time of judgment, and when the final seal is opened and fulfilled, the end result is the defeat of Satan and all the kingdoms of the world. Christ is then enthroned on the earth in an everlasting kingdom. Though the world as we know it will end after the millennium, Christ’s kingdom will never end. The form of the kingdom changes and shifts to the new heavens and the new earth, but as promised, Christ will never relinquish any part of His kingdom to evil again.

These chapters are difficult to read if we focus only on the immediate impact. They are not to be separated from the whole as the plan of final redemption unfolds. The struggle against evil is not a pretty sight. There are no pleasantries, no compromises, and no negotiations with the powers of darkness. Here we see how terrible sin is and what it costs to eradicate it from the earth. No one should imagine sin to be inconsequential. It has devastating effects and results in both physical and spiritual death. As we read through these chapters, remember where we are headed. It takes a terrible war to establish final peace and God will not rest until His people have the reward He has promised. Strewn in the way are all those that rebel against God. As the sixth chapter ends, we read these words, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” The question is rhetorical and the answer is obvious. Christ comes to conquer and conquer He will. This is the objective. Keep it in mind as you read.

Pastor V. Mark Smith